Firearms, Conceal Carry and Politics from a Dads perspective.

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Seems that violence among our youth is increasing. Not only in schools but in everyday life. I just heard the other day where a 12 year old in Chicago was caught in possession of a gun. Bullying in schools is rampant and goes for the most part unabated. What has happened?
I know this this is generally a gun blog about politics and so on, stick with me this will all tie together.
Now I should give you a little background about myself as this may qualify my statements. Besides being a Conservative father, I also worked for a school district for seven years. I worked closely with school staff and regularly was asked to review security video or look into student’s school computer usage. Believe me, I saw firsthand what school district policy was and how ineffective it was.
People often wonder, what happened, or what changed in our schools that is breeding the violence, the contempt that these kids are showing. Believe me the blame game is rampant. The schools are quick to blame the parents, or the media (internet, movies, etc..) There is plenty of blame to go around. I do believe that those are factors, but there is another that does not get talked about. The modern school environment.
This is the part that may get a little controversial, but I believe that school policies are a very large part of the problem. I am not blaming teachers, they are following the polices of their employer. If they don’t, they do not have a job. Problem resolution policies are the real cause.
In modern public education, kids are taught early on to be reliant on others for their success. If they have a problem in school, report it to the school for them to resolve. If they have problems with a student, report it to the teacher and all will be fixed. Problem is, this policy of “letting others” fix our problems, seldom resolves anything. Kids are taught that others will resolve their problems. They do not learn how to resolve the problems themselves. To be self-reliant. (If a student does defend themselves, they get punished for it.) Now, these “kids” grow up and they are still relying on others to resolve their problems for them. Some of these kids try to do everything by the rules, but the bullying remains, these are the ones that are looking for a way out, and too often it involves suicide.
Some kids are crying for “safe spaces” on college campuses. They really do not know how to process conflict or even a difference of opinion. Here are your “Snowflakes” that you hear about in the conservative media.
Now besides the snowflakes, you have others that figured out that they can take advantage of the policies. These are the bullies. They know that the school policies will punish anyone that stands up for themselves, or fights back. The bullies are rarely caught or disciplined. If they are, it is rare that they are punished enough to effectively change their behavior. Schools are afraid of getting sued, or reprimanded by the state. So basically, bullies are not afraid of the consequences, because there are none.
These bullies also grow up. Some straighten out, others do not. Usually by now, these bullies have gotten into trouble with the law. Theft and assaults are common. The big problem when they are at this age is that they still believe that they can get away with it or the punishment will be minor. So again, they run unabated. In some cases, these bullies become the robbers, burglars, rapists and murderers.
Now for society, the liberal solution is again, let someone else protect the innocent from the bullies. That someone else is either law enforcement, or the Federal Government. It is difficult for the police to prevent crime, they must react to it after it has happened. By then you’re a victim to theft, assault rape or your dead. The government just keeps passing laws they say are to prevent the crime, but most often, it makes it harder for the innocent to protect themselves, i.e. gun control.

So to put it simply..
Because the innocent student was not allowed to standup to the bully in elementary school, the student may commit suicide, the bully grows up to become a thief, that commits armed robbery and kills an innocent victim that the government did not allow to protect themselves.

School policies are creating a society that is falling victim to the bully’s. And somehow it all gets labeled as “gun violence”. To them, it’s the guns fault.

With all this talk about immigration and building the wall, it may be time to clarify things a bit.

First of all, I am not against immigration. Legal immigration to be precise. I am against illegal immigration. There is a difference and it seems that far too many do not see the difference. Also far too many do not see what the problem is with illegal immigration.

So here is an analogy that you could use to have a conversation with your liberal friends.

Scenario 1.

You are at home in bed, and you awake to a noise at 2 am. This noise happens to be a knock at your front door. You go to check this out, and a stranger asks to come in to you your phone. You could either let them in, turn them away, or ask questions to see if this is legit. Lets assume that you do not see them as a threat and allow them in to use your phone.

Scenario 2.

You are in bed at home, and you awake to a noise at 2 am. When you go to investigate, you find your front door is broken and a stranger sitting on your favorite lay z boy. At this point you do not know what his intentions are or if he is dangerous.

Now in both scenarios, a stranger is in your house. One is legally in your house, the other is not. In scenario 1, you were asked by the stranger to let them enter your house. You had a choice, it was up to you to “vet” this person to see if they were legitimate and not a threat. In scenario 2, the stranger had broken into your house, they did not have your permission. You have no idea if they are there to rob you, kill you or ask for a sandwich. You do not know what their intentions are. They are not legally allowed in your home since you did not give them permission to come in. They are in your house illegally.

Simply put, scenario 1 is like legal immigration. The stranger is asking to enter our country. We “vet” them or check them to make sure they are not a threat. We have the choice to not allow them to enter. Scenario 2 is like illegal immigration. They “broke in” and entered our country without permission. We do not know if they are a threat and do not know what their intentions are.

Now recently we shared a news article on our Facebook page about a police chief stating that immigration is not a criminal matter, but a civil matter. They would not contact immigration enforcement, unless the “immigrant” broke the law. So the police, who are sworn to protect us, won’t do anything about an illegal immigrant unless they broke the law. But, like my example above in scenario 2, the illegal immigrant has already broke the law by “breaking in” to our country. It appears that enforcement is broken either by the laws not being interpreted correctly or the laws need to be changed.

As I stated above there is no issue with legal immigration, as long as the immigrant is thoroughly checked to make sure that they are not a threat. I also see no issue having even more strict background checks for immigrants from certain countries that have increased terrorist activity.

So the next time you see the news talking about immigration, think about that stranger at 2 am . Did they knock at the door, or did they break in? Do they only want a sandwich or wish you harm?

Did we dodge a bullet last Tuesday? I think we did, but are we going to have to dodge ball bats and rioters now?
By now you all heard about the protesters and really the rioters that have decided that they know better than the rest of the country. You now the whiny liberals that think that the election was not valid because their pick did not win. What’s interesting is that when Obama won in both 2008 and 2012, I dont remember the conservatives taking to rioting, it shutting down freeways. There were no celebrities telling the sheep to assault people for how they voted. Back then, the conservative’s started working to do what they could, legally, to limit what Obama could do. Really did not do a good job, but could have been worse.
What really irritates me is these celebrities promoting the protests and violence. They have made threats against innocent people for how they voted. They have even called on some to target the president-elect. This is way, way overboard. Do these whiny anti-gun liberals realize that by inciting violence, they actually are proving the need for the legally armed law abiding citizen? They are actual showing that they are more of a threat than the gun toting conservative. The media is saying its about 1/3 of the Hillary supporters that are causing all the trouble. Maybe its a good thing they are against guns. Well, they are against the legal ones anyway.
With all this going on, which makes no sense where they are rioting. They are rioting in areas that voted for Hillary. So that are really hurting them selves. Does not make much sense does it.
What I do now is this. Their rioting will not change the outcome of this election. The protests and petitions will not change the election. What they need to do is just what the Republicans did. Strategize and plan for the future. That’s if they want any chance to take back the white house in the future.
So to the angry liberals out there protesting, go home. Go home and think about what your doing. Think about your plan for the future. The rioting is only hurting yourselves and your cause. Think about it.

With the election looking like a very real (and ugly possibility) that Hillary Clinton will be our next president. I pose this question.
Will the 1st amendment rights of gun owners be in jeopardy?
Now you may ask what the hell I’m talking about. Why the 1st amendment and not the 2nd amendment. If Hillary does get elected and follows through on her promise of ramming gun control down the throats of all Americans, will this cause all the gun owners into hiding? Now before you accuse me of wearing a tin foil hat to tight, hear me out.
If she is able to get a new assault weapons ban, those who own the banned weapons may be forced to hide them. Hide any clues to them, especially online. Why? There is no gun registry, Clinton will want to know who owns what. Your online presence and what you share online may “tip them off” that you own one of those “evil black rifles”. So just by sharing your interest of your hobby with your friends, may rat you out to an over bearing government. To go a step further, second amendment related sites, like this one, may go silent. Facebook pages would be trolled for gun owners. So even making a comment on a pro-gun page, may get you investigated. That pic at the range, may get you looked at. Before you think this it too far out there, just remember, the government is already using social media to track and round up criminals. In Hillary’s eyes, anyone that owns a firearm, especially an AR15, is suspect. An aggressive ban could turn legal owners into criminals over night.
So is it too far fetched to think that pro-gun sites, like this one, could go dark in just a few weeks?

So Donald Trump is down in the polls and it is looking more likely that ol’ Hillary will get elected. I know what your thinking. We’re screwed. She is claiming that she is going to push for gun control on the first day. Executive action supposedly if congress wont act. We have been hearing this for some time. Are we really screwed? Maybe, maybe not. It may really come down to the other races. You know, Congress. Even your state races could play into this. Just remember how effective Obama has been on gun control. He really could not get anything moving at the federal level. All the gun control legislation has been at the state level of some states. So, if the house does not fall in to the hands of the liberals, which is looking safer everyday, this will certainly throw a wrench into Hillary’s plans. This is why Bloomberg and his cronies are spending so much on the state elections and legislative actions.

So what could happen?

Hillary wins the White House, Congress is in Republican hands. Could stay very similar to what Obama had. Very little to nothing advancing. She could use executive action, but that too is limited. Executive action can not create nor get rid of existing law. Just force the existing laws to be enforced. The scariest prospect is what happens for the Supreme Court vacancy. If a progressive judge is appointed, there could be challenges. I have covered these prospects before in an earlier post, so I wont re-hash this too much. This appointment is the biggest concern of a President Hillary.

I really do not see a “Australian” style of gun buyback or forced confiscation happening. There are far too many moderate Democrats let alone the Republicans that would not be supportive. There is a possibility of a new “Assault Weapons” ban, but even that would have difficulty I believe. Pro-gun legislation would also prove difficult unless its buried in another bill. Like the carrying in national parks that was thrown in a while back.

The only way we are getting anything positive will be at the state level. Just like the last eight years, the only pro-gun movement really has been at the state level. This brings me to the main point of this post. The local / state races are probably more important than the other races getting all the attention. They have the biggest impact on your gun rights right now. These are the races that we really need to pay attention to. This is where you and I still have a good chance to further the recognition of our rights.

We really need to research the candidates for the state offices. The NRA does a good job of rating the candidates for Congress, but you may have to do some digging for the state races. Some gun rights groups do send out surveys to rate the candidates. I do know that GOCRA (MN Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance) does this. This information is invaluable.

We must be informed to make sure we vote the best we can. We also must do our best to elect the pro-rights candidates for congress and the state races. The Donald may lose the White House, but we need to fight to keep congress and the state races to thwart Hillary’s plans. We need to prepare the best we can. I always say “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”. Which reminds me. I think I may need to buy some more ammo before there is another run on it.

If you have been a concealed carrier for long, you have gotten used to looking for the “Bans Guns” signage. Depending on where you live, the more you may see it. Two businesses made the news recently on the internet. Outback Steakhouse and pi Pizzeria in Texas.

The father of the slain TV reporter in Virginia leaves an Outback because of a open carrier. Calls Outback corporate office to complain that they allowed a firearm in their business. Outbacks response is that they do Ban Guns in their restaurants.

A new pi Pizzeria gets a bad review online from a conceal carrier, and the franchise owner tells him to F**k Off. That’s a good business practice, tell a legal gun owner in a state of gun owners to F**k Off.

Now, as conceal carriers, we know that there are businesses that either are owned by anti-gun individuals or corporations. Most will post signs like pi Pizza above, some will not, like Outback. As conceal carriers, we are not forced to patronize these businesses and we should not. As citizens, we have the right to call out businesses that promote the “shooting gallery” atmosphere and let others know. Obviously, they do not want our business. They obviously missed the fact that licensed conceal carriers are the most law abiding group of people in this country. More law abiding than law enforcement even.

What most of these businesses do not understand is that most patrons do not care if a person is legally carrying a firearm. These business owners react to the anti-gun politicians and groups without fully researching anything. In the case of Outback, they are reacting to a grieving father that has been manipulated into a pawn for Bloombergs Everytown for Gun Safety. Oh, I want to point out, that signs are not bullet proof. Those signs will not stop armed robberies, mass shootings or “bad guys with guns” . What they are doing is making a shooting gallery for the bad guys.

Other businesses just follow the local laws and that’s it. There are a few like Target, that “politely ask” their customer from not carrying in their stores, but will not post signs or really do anything. For those, I carry anyway.

For those businesses that post the signs, I will not be doing business with you. I legally carry a firearm because I choose to not be a victim. By asking me to disarm, means that you want you establishment full of helpless victims. I will not subject myself, my family, or friends to that. I will also continue to call out those “shooting galleries” to inform others of these unsafe establishments.

For those businesses that allow legal carry, there are about 12 + million conceal carriers that thank you. You will enjoy our patronage.

So what is a typical day for a conceal carrier? Like everyone else, we are all different. But I thought I would share what it is like for me.

Now I will skip the typical boring stuff like taking a shower in the morning or eating breakfast, we all do that. Getting dressed is where things start to differ. Most people will take the weather and where they are going into account to how they dress for the day. I also have to take into account which firearm I will be carrying and the corresponding holster.

So for starters, lets say I am going to work while carrying. This would require a looser shirt, a inside the waistband holster, and then the S&W Shield. Also, I would be carrying a spare magazine in a old knife holster. After I have all that on, I would do a “print check” to make sure that I am not “printing”. Now when I get to work, as I exit my car, I always do a quick check to make sure my shirt did not ride up as I got out. I will do this with my strong side toward the car as to obscure prying eyes. As I get to my desk, all is normal. Only thing I need to be careful of is again, is my shirt riding up. I will check again before standing up as to not make it obvious. Really at work other than making sure I do not have a wardrobe malfunction, there is not much different than a non-carrying person. Going to the restroom, I prefer to use the stall. Its not that I am shy, but just being careful. Sometimes, clothes will not cooperate and if someone is waiting, they are looking right at your back side as your peeing. Speaking of that, I also do not like the idea of having my back to everyone that is in the restroom. Using the stall not only provides privacy, but also would make it more difficult for someone to sneak up from behind. Now this covers work, where I can legally carry. They just do not know I am carrying.

I used to work where I could not legally carry. There I had to lock it in my car every time I entered the building and then retrieve it when I left. Just another thing to remember when you carry, you may at times have to disarm due to the law.

Speaking of having to disarm. Most states allow private establishments to post signs “Banning guns on these premises”. Now not all states are like Minnesota, but those signs do not have the force of law behind them here. You would have to be caught and refuse to leave when asked before they could trespass you. That is all it is here. If you fail to leave when told to, your trespassing and could get sited for that. So to answer all the questions on how I handle that. Yes, I carry in those places too. Most of the time I do not patronize these establishments, but in some cases, I have no choice. I take the risk of being “made” and have to leave when asked. If that ever happens, I will leave with no argument. But to date, that has never happened.

So back to what we are talking about. So after work, everything is pretty typical. Drive home, say hi to the kids, maybe make dinner. I am still carrying. I carry when at home. So one could see me in the kitchen making spaghetti and I am armed. So when its time for bed, as I am getting undressed, I lock my pistol in the lock box next to the bed. Then it starts all over the next morning.

So if its the weekend, I may change it up a bit. Depending on the weather, I may use a outside the waist holster, and carry my 1911. Again I am carrying a spare magazine in that same knife holster. Usually when I go out carrying in this way, I would be wearing a jacket. If its warmer, no jacket, but I would be using the IWB holster with my shirt covering it.

The point to all this is that there are some adjustments to your life when you carry everyday. At first, it seemed like you were always conscious to “appearing armed”. After a while, you begin to notice how oblivious people are. Everyone is not looking at your waistband wondering if you are armed. It will take another conceal carrier to notice typically. The general public does not pay close enough attention.

Well this was an eventful weekend. First there was a bombing in New Jersey, then Manhattan. To finish it off, a knife attack in Minnesota. Politicians fighting over what to call it. Terrorism, not terrorism, bombing or explosion. It was ISIS, it was not ISIS. Not coordinated, it was coordinated. Foreign born terror, not foreign born terror.

So lets get this out of the way right now. This was terrorism. I don’t care if they are foreign born or not. These men were out to kill innocent people. ISIS claims that the MN attacker was “one of their solders”. There may not be any direct link to ISIS from the middle east, but these men were radicalized anyhow. Again they were out to kill innocent Americans.

Unfortunately, the bombing in Manhattan was not a shock. New York is always a target. The race in New Jersey, that was scheduled to have Marines race in, was a little surprising. What I think surprised just about everyone is the stabbing attack in St Cloud MN. St. Cloud is a city of about 56000, north of the Twin Cities. Far enough away, to safely say it is not a suburb. This is the upper Midwest folks. People say that things like this “don’t happen here”. Well it just did, terrorism has officially hit rural America. It’s safe to say that closing the borders and improving the vetting process is too little, too late now. The bad guys are here. We are at the point that we need to protect ourselves the best we can.

That attack in St Cloud also has proven something that the liberal politicians and the media do not want to admit. A good guy with a gun stopped a terrorist from harming more innocents or killing anyone. A former police chief, and a current firearms instructor was armed in the right place at the right time. And he did it right! Jason Falconer drew is legal sidearm, shot the terrorist till he was no longer a threat. Jason saved lives. He is by all sense of the word a hero. No victims died, only the terrorist was killed. Jason proved what he teaches in his carry permit classes, a legally armed person can save lives.

There is something else we learned from this attack. The attacker was a former security guard, had no record other than traffic violations. He wore a security uniform. A uniform that most people associate as being the good guy. He attacked a mall in a city that would not be on target list that most would think of. He attacked in my back yard. That is what a lot of people would say is a safe place.

I have been stressing to others for a long time that something like this could happen anywhere and we need to be prepared for it. None of the politicians wonderful plans would have prevented this from happening. Background checks would not have stopped him. The only thing we can do is just what Jason Falconer did. Be trained, be armed and be vigilant.

The terrorists are not coming, they are already here. Remember you are your first and last line of defense. Be ready.

It’s been 15 years since that fateful day that changed America forever. And it did change. In the aftermath, this country saw a unity and patriotism that had not been seen since WW2. Also, the events that day showed that this country had been complacent, thinking that “it count not happen here”. The government noticed. It started to make changes to “keep the homeland safe” Most of which actually took freedoms away. The people also noticed, they began to prepare for terrorist attacks. Some started stock piling food. The term “Every Day Carry” had new meaning and purpose. Some started to arm themselves.

Before 9/11, the people that conceal carried did so to protect only from the “domestic” thugs. After 9/11, they were also carrying to protect themselves from terrorism. Conceal carriers are now carrying with multiple threats in mind. They were now looking at capacity and reloading as before they would not consider it. Revolvers were being replaced by semi-autos. Six shots may not be enough, now they are carrying 10, 15, and 17 shots with an extra magazine for insurance. Some have even taken to carrying a BUG (back up gun). Others are training for something they hope will never happen.

Also during this time, more states recognized the right to carry. Minnesota for example went from the restrictive May-Issue to Shall-Issue. The “Assault Weapons” ban from 1993 was allowed to expire. People started to purchase AR-15s. So much so that it is now the countries most popular rifle. There are now over 11 million people with Conceal Carry permits.

Does this all make us safer? Some say yes, others no. Mostly depends on their political leanings. There have been terror attacks since 9/11. Some have been successful like San Bernardino and Orlando. However, there had been some that were stopped either by law enforcement or conceal carriers. But something interesting to note. While there have been larger scale terrorist attacks in Europe, those attacks really have not occurred here on the same scale. Of the attacks here, they have been carried out in Gun Free zones. This reminds me of a “rumor” that during WW2, the Japanese did not want to invade the U.S. mainland because they feared that there were Americans behind every blade of grass with a gun. While it has never been proven that this was really the reason or a deterrent to the Empire of Japan, could it be that it is playing a role now? Could it be that the 150 million or so gun owners in America and the 11 million conceal carriers are a deterrent to the terrorists making a bigger statement here? Or may it be the actions of the passengers of Flight 93. Those passengers, even unarmed, showed that Americans will stand up to terrorism. Those heroes saved many lives that day. They truly showed what Americans are made of.

So those of the left leaning persuasion, that believe that government control is the answer to keep us safe. That is just the complacency that can get us attacked again. The progressive politicians would like you to believe that if everyone follows restrictive rules and laws will keep our country safe. They are the ones that have their heads in the sand. Terrorists and criminals do not follow the rules and laws of the land. This is why gun control will never stop a terrorist from trying to kill us. Laws are not a deterrent, but armed civilians, an armed resistance to terror is.

The 2nd Amendment was written over 200 years ago. It is more important for the security of our families now than at any other time in our history. When it comes to defending our country from terrorists, the armed civilians of this country IS our militia. The armed civilian is our last line of defense.

I just finished the class for renewing my carry permit. Here in Minnesota, we have to renew every five years, and part of that renewal is going through the class again and submitting the application. I was thinking about how I have changed and how the world has changed since I started carrying.

On the personal side, I started carrying at first because I could legally carry. I had one carry gun and one holster. As with most carriers, this did not last long. Soon I was looking for better holsters. I also changed the way I dressed. I was shopping for clothing with holsters in mind. Also, I was educating my family about firearms a lot differently than before. They soon got used to the idea of me carrying a gun. My wife got really good at letting me know if my wardrobe was not appropriate for the holster, and if I was “printing”. Before work, I would get dressed and do the fashion spin for my wife and ask her for a “Print Check”.

Soon I learned that having a single carry gun was not ideal. My M&P got supplemented by its little brother the M&P Shield. The more I carried, the more I learned about the gun laws, both local and federal. I got involved with gun rights organizations. I started researching and following the news with self defense and conceal carriers in mind.

Also during this time, I was a victim of a road rage incident. Had a rather ugly guy threaten me and even my wife (who was not even there). I called the cops, never drew my pistol. This was my first time dealing with law enforcement while being legally armed. I showed the officer my permit, and he was very courteous. He never even asked to see my gun. This officer even commended me for the restraint I showed in this situation. If that ugly dude had only known that the man he was threatening was armed. He was only one mistake away from getting drawn on and possibly shot.

When I started carrying, I was so worried that I would be “made”. Now, I have gotten so comfortable, and attitudes have changed toward carriers here, that I have open carried on occasion. I should clarify that “I” am more comfortable, my wife is not comfortable with me open carrying yet.

Now what I have shared would probably be considered “normal” for a typical legal carrier. Nothing flashy, nor exciting with exception of the road rage incident. So what have I really learned? About society? About gun rights politics? About firearms and gear? I would say a lot. I have learned that most people are accepting of permit holders carrying. I would also say politics have gotten more important. A politicians view of the 2nd Amendment is the first thing I look for. I have learned that the politicians that are “anti-gun” are really out for more control over society. Guns are just the beginning.

How have I changed? I am more aware of my surroundings. I am more aware of dangers that surround us. I am more aware of the anti-freedom forces that exist here. I am more aware of our rights being so fragile, so close to being on the brink of being lost. I have an appreciation of our freedoms that I did not have 5 years ago.

What has not changed? I am still a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a neighbor, an employee, and a gun owner. I am still a Gun Toting Dad.